#7/7 UAlbany Men's Lacrosse Grinds Out 10-5 Victory vs. UMBC

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ALBANY, N.Y. – With the defense and the ride leading the way, the #7/7 UAlbany men’s lacrosse team defeated UMBC 10-5 on Saturday afternoon for its ninth consecutive victory at John Fallon Field.

UAlbany (9-1, 4-0 AE) held UMBC (4-6, 2-1 AE) to two goals or less in every quarter. As TD Ierlanwon 16-of-19 faceoffs with 13 ground balls, nine of the UAlbany goals came in the second and third quarters.

“I thought it was one of those games where we had to adjust to the pace,” said UAlbany head coach Scott Marr. “Our defense did a great job, they were challenged and came through.”

With the win, UAlbany holds first place in the America East, a half-game ahead of Binghamton. The Great Danes outshot UMBC 38-25 and dominated the ground ball battle 34-13.

“Our defense did a great job, they were riding really hard, and our attack were hustling to get us the ball,” said Ierlan.

Connor Fields again led UAlbany in scoring with six points off three goals and three assists, having a hand in the first five UAlbany goals. Justin Reh had the team’s goal high with four, adding an assist while Jakob Patterson with a pair of goals. JD Colarusso had the win in goal with three saves while Erik Dluhy finished with three ground balls and a caused turnover.

For UMBC, Gunnar Schimoler and Mitch Howell each had a goal and an assist. Ruston Souder saved 13 shots in goal.

Both teams played long into possessions to begin the game. With Colarusso causing a turnover to begin, Sean Ecclesgot the drop off pass from Fields for the laser shot and score 4:24 into the game. UAlbany’s ride forced a pair of failed clears to contain UMBC, trying to go against the Retriever zone. Despite a long possession with four shots fired, Eccles’s goal was the lone of the 1st, with UAlbany leading 1-0 after one.

Into the 2nd, Ierlan faceoff victories and ground ball pickups led to three quick goals, all before UMBC got possession in the period. Adam Osika set up Fields from behind the cage for the shot and score, Justin Reh passed across the arc to Fields for another goal then Patterson spun on the dorrstep for a score, making it 4-0 UAlbany with 12:58 left in the 2nd.

UMBC got on the board with two goals off failed UAlbany clears, pulling to within two with 9:04 left in the half. UAlbany got a goal back on a bouncing shot from Justin Reh after a pass from Fields, then held on a long defensive possession of 4:01 with five UMBC shots, holding after a Retriever turnover. UAlbany led 5-2 at the half.

Into the third, Justin Reh picked up the ball just in front of the crease in the scrum, throwing a ground ball into the cage. After each keeper made a save, Fields added a goal off another scrum, with Troy Reh picking one up and finding Fields for a 10-yard fire. UMBC won a faceoff and scored from Ryan Frawley, then UAlbany countered with a 3-0 run: Justin Reh scoring after a clear off the faceoff, a backhand shot on the doorstep from Patterson and another transition shot and score from Justin Reh, making it 10-3 UAlbany, the eventual end of third quarter score.

UAlbany pressured Souder in the first three minutes of the fourth with four shots on goal, with the UMBC keeper saving all four. The other way, UMBC scored twice in a span of 40 seconds to pull within five at 10-5 UAlbany with 10:46 left.

UAlbany’s defense held the rest of the way, including forcing two more failed clears. UAlbany took the victory 10-5.

UAlbany gets ready for a showdown at Tom & Mary Casey Stadium against #6/8 Maryland on Wednesday, April 12th at 4 p.m. For ticket information, visit ualbanysports.com/tickets or call the UAlbany ticket office directly at 518-442-DANE.